Principles of Documentary Editing
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About this Self-Paced Course
Documentary filmmaking is won or lost in the edit. While a great film might begin with a thousand hours of footage, it lives or dies by how it’s shaped into the final cut. In this self-paced course, award-winning documentary editor Jacob Bricca guides you through the key foundations of the editing process, teaching you how to find the “beating heart” of your narrative.
Bricca’s filmmaking credits include:
- Lost in La Mancha
- Jimmy Scott: If You Only Knew (2002 Tribeca Best Documentary Feature nominee)
- The Bad Kids (2016 Sundance Special Jury Award winner)
- Missing in Brooks County (2021 Critic’s Choice Documentary Awards nominee)
In this four-week course, Bricca will use examples from his own films as an editor and director to provide creative and collaborative tools needed to shape the narrative of a documentary. This course builds upon a previous Sundance Collab Master Class and features exclusive insights and conversations with established documentary storytellers Geeta Ghandbir and Viridiana Lieberman (The Perfect Neighbor), Carla Gutierrez and David Teague (Frida), Ephraim Kirkwood and John Tarquinio (Patrice: The Movie), and Daniel Garber and Emily Yue (Spermworld).
In this course, you will learn:
- The principles of documentary editing
- Processes for successful non-fiction storytelling
- Relationship dynamics between directors and editors
- Common documentary editing techniques
- Four key narrative strategies
- Creative approaches to the edit
- Tips, tricks, and best practices from professional editors
Who this course is for: This course is ideal for aspiring and established documentary filmmakers looking to learn more about navigating the editing process.
Additional Benefits: Your enrollment includes a workbook and access to additional videos from Sundance Collab's Video Library.
Live Interaction and Support:
- Weekly Group Office Hours: Join our live online sessions with a Sundance Collab Advisor. This is your opportunity to ask questions, discuss challenges, and get real-time feedback in a supportive group environment.
- 1-on-1 Sessions (Additional $150): For more personalized support, you can book a 60-minute, 1-on-1 meeting with your Advisor to receive additional guidance.
Sundance Collab provides accommodations and support services to participants with disabilities. Accommodations and services are designed to meet the needs of each participant. Please email us at accessibility@sundance.org to arrange for services.
Self-Paced CourseOutline
Topics covered include:
- Course Overview
- Documentary Editing Fundamentals
- Processes of Post-Production
- Relationships Between Editors and Directors
- Behind the Cut
Topics covered include:
- Evidentiary Editing
- Vérité and Montage Editing
- Creative Approaches to Editing
Topics covered include:
- First-Hand and Character Experiences
- Inside the Edit: Character-Driven Storytelling
- Delayed Gratification
Topics covered include:
- Present Tense, Tips, and Tricks
- Inside the Edit: Crafting Dramatic Questions
- Next Steps in Your Documentary Filmmaking Journey
Team
Jacob Bricca
Instructor
Jacob Bricca, ACE is an award-winning film editor, director, producer, and scholar. He has edited eleven feature documentaries including the international theatrical hit Lost In La Mancha, the Independent Lens Audience Award Winner Jimmy Scott: If You Only Knew, the 2016 Sundance Special Jury Award Winner The Bad Kids, and the 2021 Critics Choice Documentary Awards Nominee Missing In Brooks County. His producing and directing credits include films screened at the Berlin International Film Festival, DOC NYC, and the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. He is a member of the American Cinema Editors, where he is Co-Chair of the ACE Education Committee.
His book Documentary Editing: Principles And Practice is the definitive textbook on documentary editing and is a part of the curriculum at film schools around the world, including the USC School of Cinematic Arts and UCLA, and his newest book How Documentaries Work published by Oxford University Press, offers a provocative deconstruction of documentary tropes and conventions. At the University of Arizona he is the Head of the Film and Television Production Division, and teaches classes on narrative and documentary film editing, documentary history, and documentary production.
FAQ
Sundance Collab’s Self-paced courses provide flexibility to complete the work on your own time, but also within a structured timeline that helps you to advance your project. You will travel through the course with a cohort of creators like yourself, and - if applicable - are given assignments with due dates during key weeks of the course:
- Each week you will view pre-recorded lectures by the instructor structured around key topics.
- Post-Video Activities after each session are designed to apply concepts to your own work, and move your project to the next stage.
- If assigned, a course advisor will give you feedback on elements of your work.
- You will have the opportunity to join live class exercises or group office hours, hosted by Sundance Collab Advisors, at critical points in the course to ask questions and discuss concepts.
- In some courses, you will have the opportunity to purchase a 1-on-1 Zoom session with your assigned course advisor.
All members of the Sundance Collab community are welcome to take Sundance Collab Self-paced courses. Please review the course description to ensure the course is a good fit. If you have any questions about a course, please email collab_courses@sundance.org.
Note that each Self-paced course has a registration deadline, so please check the date and time to ensure you don’t miss the cut-off. If the registration window is open, you will see a "Register” button on the course page.
We do not allow creative partners to do our Self-paced courses as a team. However, both creators can individually register for the course.
We often offer a limited number of need-based, full or partial scholarships. Check the course description to see if that course currently has scholarships available. Scholarships are prioritized for one per person per year (from the date of issue). Scholarship applications are available up to one week before the registration deadline. To apply for a scholarship, complete the registration form by clicking the REGISTER button above and selecting the scholarship option, if available.
Applicants will be notified about their scholarship decision prior to the first day of the course. Due to the volume of applicants, we are not always able to provide a scholarship, but we may still offer a spot in the course.In this case, depending on the course, payment plans may be available and can be selected at checkout.
Yes, we offer two or three-part payment plans for Self-paced courses, depending on the length of the course. In all cases, the first payment is due at the point of registration. The remaining payment(s) are spread out throughout the course term. For specific payment plan dates for a course, please reach out to our team at: collab_courses@sundance.org.
In courses with live class exercises or group office hours, the sessions are recorded and usually made available within two business days. The videos will also contain the chat and transcript from the session, viewable in the video playbar.
Participants will have access to the lecture recordings and course materials for one year following the last class session.
All participants will receive a Certificate of Completion. The certificate will include the name associated with your Collab account.
You can find any courses that you are enrolled in or have already completed in the profile section of your Collab account under “Courses.”
You can access the course videos via a computer or mobile device. All of our live class exercises and group office hour sessions are conducted via Zoom.
Download and set up the Zoom software (https://zoom.us/download) and make sure you have the latest update. Here are some great resources from Zoom’s Knowledge Base to take a deeper dive into using Zoom:
- Watch Zoom's Video Tutorials or review training materials on the Getting Started page
- Join a Live Training from Zoom
If you have any further questions, please email collab_courses@sundance.org.
Sundance Collab provides accommodations and support services to participants with disabilities. Please contact us at (435) 776-7790 or email us at accessibility@sundance.org to ask any questions or to discuss your specific needs after you have been accepted into the course.
No currently scheduled sessions
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